Taigheirm is the inaugural release from Troy Schafer’s Shifting Sands Congregation label. If you folks remember my reviews of Kinit Her’s last album or Troy’s Anubis Come In tape, you may have some kind of idea what to expect. If you don’t feel like reading those, what you can expect is some very highly experimental musical mysticism.

Taigheirm is actually a word, according to the web it means:

The Gaelic term Taigheirm means either an armoury, or the cry of a cat, depending on how the word is being pronounced. Both meanings are closely connected as the cries of tormented cats were also the weapons used to overwhelm the opposition that demons presented to human requests. But, the word is mostly given to an ancient magic rite in which cats were sacrificed. This mainly happened in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, although it is believed that the ceremony originated in more northerly climes, and was practised until about the end of the 18th Century.

Taigheirm the musical project isn’t that extreme sounding. Rather it definitely falls within the general tones of the “Mystic Wisconsin” sound. The album’s single track has a very low-key level of ambient unease. Sounds that you might be able to recognize, but can’t quite pinpoint as you try pervade the recording, but are coupled with bells and the sounds of the floor creaking and a few recognizable feline sounds. This actually is a live recording and very well sounds like an actual ritual, which it may be.